Trading in Internet search giant Google was halted after the company accidently released a disappointing earnings report about four hours ahead of schedule on Thursday (October 18, 2012). Google quickly blamed the blunder on its financial printer, R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. and then released an official report about three hours after the trigger-finger one.

According to the earnings report, the third-quarter revenue excluding some items was $11.3 billion, short of the average estimate for $11.8 billion. The third-quarter profit, which was also below estimated profit of $10.65 a share, was minus some items of $9.03 a share. As a result, Google, the biggest seller of search-based advertising, dropped the most since January, closing at $695.42 on Thursday, down 8 percent after the results were inadvertently during regular trading hours.

The world's No. 1 Internet search engine also reported that the price advertisers paid per click on an ad continued to drop dramatically, decreasing 15 percent from the same period last year.

Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page spoke during a news conference at the Google offices in New York City.

Larry Page was present in a conference call to discuss its third-quarter earnings which was leaked accidently ahead of schedule on Thursday (October 18, 2012). The CEO of Google found the quarter strong, noting that sales rose 45% over the year.

Google shares fell $60.49, or 8%, to $695 after the company reported a final version of its earnings document. The leaked release showed Google’s net income was down 20 percent year-over-year to $2.18 billion, or $6.53 a share, compared to $2.73 billion, or $8.33 a share in the same quarter of 2011.

Earlier this year, Google acquired Motorola Mobility whose revenue for the third quarter of 2012 was $2.58 billion, accounting for 18% of Google's consolidated revenues.